It’s ironic, isn’t it? In an era where we can pretty much reach each other no matter where we are, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, people communicate with each other less and less. Don’t believe me? OK, then indulge me.

Next time you are out with your friends having coffee, count how many times they will reach for their cell phone. For that matter, count how many times you will reach for your cell phone. Or, better yet, if you are trying to get a point across, or even just rambling, stop mid-sentence, and ask one of your friends to repeat what you have just said. You will be surprised by the results.

Why is that? Why do we type away on our cell phones instead of having meaningful, face-to-face conversations with people we care about? It’s like we would rather be somewhere else, with someone else, because that’s how it appears.

Now, modern technology has allowed us to communicate from people all over the globe, whom we’d never meet otherwise. Yet, we prioritize electronic communication over meeting people in real life. And you know what? Those people you are talking to via your cell phone, Skype, or Viber, and neglecting the people you are sitting down with, if you were to meet them in person, would have nothing to say to you, and vice versa.

I know, because I have been there. I’ve met some of my online pals, and while the meeting was pleasant enough, our communication just didn’t translate very well into real life.

What about people you do know in real life? Why do we still keep on chatting for hours on end with people we can easily meet in 15 minutes time? And why do we insist on taking pictures of everything we do, and all the places we are at, and putting it on Instagram, instead of being there and enjoying the moment. Who do we tweet everything that pops into our minds?

Perhaps the answer to that question is not that important. We can sit here for days and think of all the different reasons. But, instead of doing that, let’s do something else.

Next time you are out with someone, ignore your cell phone as much as you can. It’s OK to answer phone calls or text back if it’s something important, but you can do without checking out every tweet, update or image that gets posted every 3 seconds. You just might find that you can do without all of that.